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Bebop Spoken There

Billy Boy Arnold: “As long as you don't think old you're good.” - DownBeat, December, 2023.

The Things They Say!

Hudson Music: Lance's "Bebop Spoken Here" is one of the heaviest and most influential jazz blogs in the UK.

Rupert Burley (Dynamic Agency): "BSH just goes from strength to strength".

'606' Club: "A toast to Lance Liddle of the terrific jazz blog 'Bebop Spoken Here'"

The Strictly Smokin' Big Band included Be Bop Spoken Here (sic) in their 5 Favourite Jazz Blogs.

Ann Braithwaite (Braithwaite & Katz Communications) You’re the BEST!

Holly Cooper, Mouthpiece Music: "Lance writes pull quotes like no one else!"

Simon Spillett: A lovely review from the dean of jazz bloggers, Lance Liddle...

Postage

16051 (and counting) posts since we started blogging 15 years ago. 1058 of them this year alone and, so far, 12 this month (Dec. 6).

From This Moment On ...

December

Mon 11: Harmony Brass @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Mon 11: Interim Final Recitals @ Newcastle University. Details TBC.

Tue 12: Stu Collingwood Organ Trio @ Forum Music Centre, Darlington. 7:00pm. £10.00.

Wed 13: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Wed 13: Darlington Big Band @ Darlington & Simpson Rolling Mills Social Club, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free. Rehearsal session (open to the public).
Wed 13: Take it to the Bridge @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:30pm. Free.
Wed 13: Bold Big Band @ Cluny 2, Newcastle. 7:30pm.
Wed 13: Giles Strong Quartet @ Alphabetti Theatre, Newcastle. 7:30pm.

Thu 14: Vieux Carré Jazzmen @ The Holystone, Whitley Road, North Tyneside. 1:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Hot Fingers @ The Lubetkin Theatre, Peterlee. 7:00pm. £10.00.
Thu 14: After Hours Student Jazz Jam @ The Globe, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Merlin Roxby @ Prohibition Bar, Newcastle. 8:00pm. . Free. A ‘Jar on the Bar’ gig.
Thu 14: Niffi Osiyemi Trio @ Harbour View, Sunderland. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Mo Scott ‘Little Mo’s Festive Appearance’ @ The Schooner, Gateshead. 8:00pm. Free.
Thu 14: Tees Hot Club w. Kevin Eland, Josh Bentham, Garry Hadfield, Adrian Beadnell @ Dorman’s Club, Middlesbrough. 9:00pm.

Fri 15: Paul Edis @ Lit & Phil, Newcastle. 1:00pm. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Classic Swing @ Cullercoats Crescent Club. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: New Orleans Preservation Jazz Band @ Oxbridge Hotel, Stockton. 1:00pm. £5.00.
Fri 15: Rendezvous Jazz @ The Monkseaton Arms, Monkseaton. 1:00pm. Free.
Fri 15: Paul Skerritt @ Black Horse Inn, Crook. From 7:00pm.
Fri 15: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ St Cuhtbert's Centre, Crook. 7:30pm. £15.00. SOLD OUT! Waiting list open.
Fri 15: Zoë Gilby Trio @ Seventeen Nineteen, Hendon, Sunderland. 7:30pm. £12.00. POSTPONED!
Fri 15: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. First night of two. SOLD OUT!
Fri 15: Darlington Big Band @ Traveller’s Rest, Darlington. 8:00pm. £10.00. Opus 4 Jazz Club.
Fri 15: Baghdaddies @ Cobalt Studios, Newcastle. 8:00pm. £14.00.; £10.00.

Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 2:00pm. A Jazzy Christmas + Jambone.
Sat 16: Porritt & Barrett & Friends Xmas Special @ Cullercoats Watch House. 7:00pm. £4.00.
Sat 16: Milne-Glendinning Band @ The Vault, Darlington. 7:00pm. Free.
Sat 16: Red Kites Jazz Band @ The Staithes Café, Gateshead. 7:00pm--9:00pm.
Sat 16: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Ellingham Village Hall, Chathill. 7:30pm. £12.00., £8.00.
Sat 16: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ The Glasshouse, Gateshead. 8:00pm.
Sat 16: Strictly Smokin' Big Band @ Gosforth Civic Theatre, Newcastle. 8:00pm. Second night of two.

Sun 17: Red Kites Jazz Band @ Gibside Chapel, nr. Rowlands Gill. 1:00-2:30pm.
Sun 17: Paul Skerritt @ Hibou Blanc, Newcastle. 2:00pm.
Sun 17: Revolutionaires @ Tyne Bar, Newcastle. 4:00pm. Free. Rock ‘n’ roll excellence!
Sun 17: Tweed River Jazz Band @ Barrels Alehouse, Berwick. 7:00pm. Free.
Sun 17: The Globe Xmas Party @ The Globe, Newcastle. 7:00pm. Free. Multi-bill inc. David Gray’s Flextet + jam session.
Sun 17: Paul Edis: A Jazzy Christmas @ Queen's Hall, Hexham. 7:30pm. £17.00., £15.00.
Sun 17: Hayley's Little Big Band @ Amble Parish Hall. 7:30pm. £12.00., £6.00.
Sun 17: Snake Davis Trio @ St John’s Hall, Snods Edge, Shotley Bridge DH8 9TJ. 7:30pm. £15.00. from 07766 037893.

Wednesday, October 14, 2020

The Matt Mackellar Story - so far... Part 2 of 3.

BSH: That's your recent history. What's the story of your earlier days? Why did you choose drums? Who were your tutors? 

Matt: I had always been exposed to good music thanks to my Dad. He was always interested in the more complex side of popular music, which led me to have an appreciation for the likes of everything from Steely Dan to Jamiroquai. The first instrument I actually picked up was the guitar. I had a little toy guitar and microphone that I would use to perform songs I had learned in my church when I was very young. At around the age of 5 or 6, I started to become fascinated by the drums in church. I would always go up to the kit at the end of the service and want to have a little play. 

Deon Krishnan was really the one to first encourage me and see that I had some natural rhythm at a young age. I have an enduring memory of him teaching me my first beat on the kit and it sort of being a eureka moment. From then on my curiosity about the drums just kept growing. My parents took the decision to nurture this curiosity and invest in some lessons for me. 

My first teacher was Jeff Armstrong. I started with him at the age of 6, which was a baptism of fire in terms of my attitude towards progressing on the kit and taught me a lot about how to deal with critique and turn it into a desire to improve. He was absolutely critical in giving me a really solid technical base to my playing, and I wouldn’t have progressed nearly as much without his teaching. 

I later began lessons with Dave Lourie. Dave really pushed me to the next level with my playing, giving me a great education on playing with much more style and finesse and tailoring his teaching to my interests at a given time, which helped instil a passion for the instrument in me. 

I then began lessons with Geoff Hutchinson, who really transformed my work ethic for the instrument and helped me get a true picture of what needed to be done if I wanted to make my dream to play music as a career a reality. All of my teachers have been absolutely essential in my development and I wouldn’t be where I am today without them!

BSH: What was your practice routine back then? Your neighbours must have been very understanding!

Matt: When I first set out, I hated practicing! It felt like torture to me when I was very young. With a bit of encouragement from my parents, I would make some progress and reach small milestones. This process slowly made me realise that nothing would be achieved without putting any work in. Slowly as I grew up, I started to practice more, which my teachers would see and in response give me more challenging material to work on in order to push me forward. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I really started to enjoy practicing and start to work on not only the tasks that were given to me by my teachers but my own personal challenges. 

The final few years before I went off to college, practice became more of an obsession than a chore. I’d get home from school and just practice until curfew! Yes my neighbours were incredibly understanding. Luckily, they were close family friends and were always happy to hear me doing something that I loved doing.

BSH: You will, no doubt, recall a memorable session at the Jazz Cafe when, in addition to playing drums, you surprised many by playing guitar! Did you/do you dream of becoming a rock guitar god?! Who taught you the rudiments? 

Matt: Yeh that was a scary time… I had never played guitar publicly before that session but I was lucky to have my guitar teacher and mentor John Wilson there to support me. I’m not sure why I became interested in learning how to play guitar but I’m so glad I did. Playing a harmonic instrument really helped me develop my ear and understanding of jazz music. I was able to use this knowledge to try and inject more musicality into my drumming as I began to understand the process behind crafting a song as well as a melodic improvisation. This knowledge also really gave me a step up in learning how to compose for school and college. John was a great teacher to me and always focused on things I was interested in at that particular time; he’s also a fantastic player!

BSH: And so to Berklee. You set your sights on winning a place at the prestigious American institution. Tell us about the application process? Where did you audition - here in Britain or in the US?

(To be continued tomorrow ...)

Part One.

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